Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of business rates on (a) private, (b) voluntary and (c) independent nurseries.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In April 2025, the Government removed eligibility of private schools in England for business rates charitable rate relief. Schools that satisfy the definition of a private school have lost entitlement to charitable rate relief entirely. This definition may include private schools with some nursery classes, which, despite the presence of some nursery provision will still be, by their nature, private schools.
Standalone nursery schools, where they have their own business rates assessments, were excluded from the legislation and, where applicable, have retained their charitable rate relief. This approach best ensures consistency with the underlying policy intent.
Analysis on the expected impact of this policy can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/removal-of-eligibility-of-private-schools-for-business-rates-charitable-relief/removal-of-eligibility-of-private-schools-for-business-rates-charitable-relief
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of business rates on (a) private, (b) voluntary and (c) independent nurseries.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In April 2025, the Government removed eligibility of private schools in England for business rates charitable rate relief. Schools that satisfy the definition of a private school have lost entitlement to charitable rate relief entirely. This definition may include private schools with some nursery classes, which, despite the presence of some nursery provision will still be, by their nature, private schools.
Standalone nursery schools, where they have their own business rates assessments, were excluded from the legislation and, where applicable, have retained their charitable rate relief. This approach best ensures consistency with the underlying policy intent.
Analysis on the expected impact of this policy can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/removal-of-eligibility-of-private-schools-for-business-rates-charitable-relief/removal-of-eligibility-of-private-schools-for-business-rates-charitable-relief
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of early years education in (a) schools and (b) non-school sites on educational outcomes.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
The 2024 Department for Education Provider Survey shows that there were 322,000 registered places at school-based nurseries in 2024.
School-based nurseries are one part of this country's childcare and early years market.
Nurseries located on a school site can operate under different delivery models, such as nursery classes run by the school, a private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nursery leasing space on a school’s premises or operating on the school’s behalf, or provision run by a childminder, or group of childminders, leasing space on a school premises.
School-based nurseries are more likely to be led by graduate qualified staff, which is associated with higher quality provision for children. Additionally, the benefits of school-based nursery provision, including transition to school, were highlighted by many teachers working in schools with a nursery in the Kindred Squared school readiness report.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of full-time early years places at school-based nurseries.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
The 2024 Department for Education Provider Survey shows that there were 322,000 registered places at school-based nurseries in 2024.
School-based nurseries are one part of this country's childcare and early years market.
Nurseries located on a school site can operate under different delivery models, such as nursery classes run by the school, a private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nursery leasing space on a school’s premises or operating on the school’s behalf, or provision run by a childminder, or group of childminders, leasing space on a school premises.
School-based nurseries are more likely to be led by graduate qualified staff, which is associated with higher quality provision for children. Additionally, the benefits of school-based nursery provision, including transition to school, were highlighted by many teachers working in schools with a nursery in the Kindred Squared school readiness report.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government why there are different business rate liabilities for fee-charging (1) standalone nursery schools, and (2) nurseries within the curtilage of independent schools.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Private schools in England no longer benefit from business rates charitable rate relief. The definition of a private school is set out in the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Act. This definition includes private schools with nursery classes, which, despite the presence of some nursery provision are, by their nature, private schools.
Standalone nursery schools with their own business rates assessments remain eligible for charitable rate relief if they are eligible charities. This approach best ensures consistency with the underlying policy intent to remove eligibility from private schools.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2025 to Question 31955 on Private Education: Business Rates, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of liability for business rates on the commercial viability of nurseries located within the premises of an independent school.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
As the Government confirmed at Autumn Budget 2024, schools that satisfy the definition of a private school will lose any entitlement to charitable rate relief entirely. This may include private schools with some nursery classes, which, despite the presence of some nursery provision will still be, by their nature, private schools.
Standalone nursery schools, where they have their own business rates assessments, are excluded from the legislation and, where applicable, retain their charitable rate relief. This approach best ensures consistency with the underlying policy intent.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of VAT on Steiner School kindergartens.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government ran a technical consultation on the VAT policy for seven weeks from 29 July to 15 September. During the consultation period, my officials and I also held a series of meetings with stakeholders to complement written responses. This included written submissions from Steiner Schools.
Following that consultation the Government made changes to the treatment of nursery classes, so that those attached to private schools will continue to be exempt from VAT as long as they are wholly (or almost wholly), rather than completely, composed of children under compulsory school age who wouldn’t be expected to turn compulsory school age that year.
Classes where the vast majority of children are below compulsory school age will remain exempt from VAT. Where mixed classes have a high proportion of children over compulsory school age the Government believes it is fair to treat these classes the same way entire classes of children over compulsory school age are treated. This means that classes like “kindergarten classes” in Steiner schools will be within scope of this policy.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 2820 on Private Education: Business Rates, whether business rates will be levied on (a) nurseries and (b) pre-school premises affiliated with an independent school.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The Non Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill will remove the eligibility for charitable rate relief from private schools that are charities in England. Standalone private nursery schools with their own rates bills are outside of the scope of the Bill and, where charities, will retain their relief. Private schools that provide education for pupils of compulsory school age but also have nursery classes within the school will lose their rate relief entirely unless the nursery classes are on separate premises with their own rates bill.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to apply VAT to small private schools offering Montessori education where pre-school age children are in the same classes as older children.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
From 1 January 2025, the 20% standard rate of VAT will apply to all education services, vocational training, and boarding services provided by private schools for a charge. This will apply to any fees charged after 29 July 2024 for terms starting after 1 January 2025.
The government has listened to feedback regarding the definition of “nursery class” used in the draft legislation. To ensure the legislation achieves the policy intent of keeping nursery education exempt from VAT across the UK, the definition of a nursery class has been amended to: “a class that is composed wholly (or almost wholly) of children who are under compulsory school age or, in Scotland, school age, and would not be expected to attain that age while in that class”. Therefore, providing the majority of children in the nursery class are under compulsory school age and aren’t expected to turn compulsory school age that year, the whole nursery class will remain exempt from VAT. Nursery schools not attached to a private school will remain exempt from VAT, regardless of the age of their pupils.
Further detail can be found in the government’s summary of responses published here: Government_Response_to_the_Technical_Note_on_Applying_VAT_to_Private_School_Fees_and_Removing_the_Business_Rates_Charitable_Rate_Relief.pdf
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the proposed additional nursery places in primary schools will be (a) year-round and (b) term-time only.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There are a range of models of nursery provision run on school sites, including nursery classes attached to primary schools, provision for 2 year olds and full day care run by schools, as well as private and voluntary providers running provision on school sites. The department will be working closely with the sector as it develops this commitment to ensure new nursery provision meets the varied needs of parents, children and schools.